This is a fantastic recipe for tummy-friendly turkey chili using my favorite pre-soaked, sprouted bean/lentil product. Of course, it’s organic, but it’s also available for a great price at Costco! It’s the TruRoots Organic Sprouted Bean Trio and it contains mung beans, green lentils, and adzuki beans.
Most of us know we should be eating beans and lentils once our guts have stabilized to the point where they can digest them. But whilst your gut may not be able to handle canned beans, it may be just fine with this product as the beans and lentils are already soaked and sprouted – thus making them much easier to digest.
In a perfect world, you would have enough time to soak and sprout your own beans and lentils, but for many of us, that extra step means we avoid these highly nutritious foods. However, this is the other reason I LOVE this product – it’s actually easier and faster to make than rice!
I’ve deleted a lot of the common gut irritants from this chili (like chili peppers, corn, tabasco, etc.) and I’ve also given you a more easily tolerated alternative to the taco seasoning spices usually used in chili. For other ingredients (like onions, mild salsa) that may be fine for some, but not for others, I have marked them optional and this recipe will still taste great without them. Enjoy!
JINI’S TUMMY-FRIENDLY TURKEY CHILI
Ingredients:
- Pre-Cook 1 cup of TruRoots Organic Sprouted Bean Trio according to package directions = 3 cups cooked*
- 3 tablespoons coconut or organic extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1.5 pounds organic or pasture-raised ground turkey (or beef)
- 1 package (3 tbsp) all-natural mild taco seasoning mix (if your stomach is super-sensitive, then use 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder instead of the taco seasoning mix)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander (cilantro)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1.5 cups organic or pasture-raised chicken or beef broth
- 1/2 cup organic mild salsa (optional)
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or coarsely chopped tomatoes packed in puree
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 cloves of garlic, diced
- 3 medium zucchini, diced (or 1.5 cups chopped green beans if you prefer)
*If you like your beans soft, then cook about 20 minutes longer than the package directions.
Optional for garnish:
- 1 cup shredded raw cheddar cheese
- 1 cup organic sour cream or yoghurt cream cheese
- 4 green onions, chopped
Directions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Crumble turkey into the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon to break apart as much as possible. Season with taco seasoning mix, coriander/cilantro, oregano, and tomato paste, and mix until meat is evenly coated with seasonings. Continue cooking, reducing heat if necessary, until turkey is well browned.
2. Pour in broth, and simmer to reduce liquid slightly, about 5 minutes. Add salsa, tomatoes, carrots and cooked Sprouted Bean Trio and continue cooking at a moderate simmer for ten minutes. Adjust the thickness at any time you feel necessary by adding water.
3. While chili is still cooking, heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add the zucchini, and cook stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add onion, garlic and zucchini to the chili, and continue cooking at a very low simmer for 15 minutes more. Again, adjust the consistency by adding more water or broth, if needed.
4. Ladle chili into serving bowls. Top with sour cream, green onion, and cheddar cheese, and serve.
Note: If you wish (and your gut can handle it), you can add chillies, jalapeños or tabasco sauce to taste, to make this spicy-hot.
Original post April 2013. Most recently updated Sept 2021.
Hi,
I see you included turmeric in this recipe and I’m curious what your opinion of turmeric supplements is?
Thanks!
Hi Sara,
Thank you for reaching out! Jini does not advocate the use of turmeric in her protocols but does recommend it for use as a spice in her Listen to Your Gut book (depending on the situation).
Kind Regards,
Cris B
Customer care
Hi Cris,
I read her book and I am aware she doesn’t include it in her recommendations. I’m just asking why not and what is her experience with it. Is it because she has just never tested it or because she saw negative effects? Thanks!
Hi Sara, back when I had Crohn’s, turmeric was not a substance I tolerated well. But as I healed I could use increasing amounts – until I was making curry with heaping tablespoons of it! So again, it’s something that you can test and see what your body thinks of it. If you feel strongly drawn to it, you could also test taking a capsule of Curcumin and see what your body feels about that.
Is this recommend for people with diverticula, when not in a diverticulites flare up?
I have the LTYG book, the IBD remission book, and I use the shakes and supplements, but I don’t know how to apply the information I got from Jini to new recipes.
Another question: Is the sour cream used in the recipe the regular store bought one?
Thanks!
Alice
Hi Alice,
Just apply the dietary guidelines from whichever diet you’re using in Chapter 3 – perhaps you are on the Maintenance Diet? And then of course the #1 thing you need to do is CHEW your food until it is smooth mush, almost liquid. This will also ensure you never get fat! LOL.
You can either buy organic sour cream, or make your own version of this yoghurt cream cheese:
https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/how-to-make-whey-and-yogurt-cream-cheese/
Hey Jini!
My husband has been on your IBS protocol for the past 6 months and has had success! I do have a question that I couldn’t find on your blog or your IBSbook. Even after the 6 months of WOO and Natren probiotics, he still has toenail fungus and occasional jock itch. Is there something different we should be using in those spots directly? And should the WOO be taken longer to kill those fungal infections? Thank you so much for all your help!
Hi Brittany. First off I want to say that is great news regarding your husband’s success following the IBS protocol! For the toenail fungus & jock itch, sounds like he is dealing with a case of candida overgrowth. I’d recommend reading this home remedy page: https://listentoyourgut.com/candida-yeast-infection/
Candida symptoms can include vaginal yeast infections in women, thrush (oral yeast infection), skin rashes (including diaper rashes), athlete’s foot, fungal infection of the nails, headaches, fatigue, anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, cravings for sugar and alcohol, and intestinal symptoms such as gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea.
You can find a natural remedy for candida yeast at that url I provided. I hope this helps! =)
Also Brittany, in addition to following a Candida protocol – which in his case may simply involve cutting ALL sugar and going really low carb for a month or so (since he’s already doing so much) – he can also use these really effective remedies topically:
1. Athlete’s foot or Toenail fungus – get some zinc oxide powder (Amazon has it) and mix in just enough wild oregano oil to make a stiff paste. Apply this either in the morning or night, and cover with a COTTON sock (so the foot can breathe). Try to go barefoot as much as possible and stay away from synthetic socks and shoes that don’t allow the foot to breathe. This remedy has worked on EVERYONE I’ve given it to.
2. For jock itch – Dilute wild oregano 7:1 with organic olive oil and apply to affected area 1- 2x/day
And congrats on doing so well with the IBS!
Thank you so much Jini! Your response means so much to us!
One more quick question… for the candida protocol… do you recommend switching antifungals each week along with the WOO? Such as grapefruit seed extract/ garlic/etc. Or do you think the WOO with the benonite and psyllium is best?
Hi Brittany. It really depends on what you feel works best for your body. Most will use WOO, but many people also find it very effective to alternate wild oregano oil with olive leaf extract. They maintain that this is more powerful since it doesn’t allow the microorganism to adapt to any one substance. If you decide you’d like to switch, you can replace WOO with 2 capsules of olive leaf extract.